


slow dancing, sword fighting, and other ways to avoid confessing to your best friend

by perihelion (mattratat)



Series: soriku royalty au [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M, Royalty AU, canon cant catch me im only writing aus, no remind spoilers here, pining pining and more pining, u can have a little lore... as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22426462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mattratat/pseuds/perihelion
Summary: As it turns out, faking a royal engagement is a lot more work than Riku realized.(sequel tobad flirting, miscommunication, and other ways to get out of an arranged marriage)
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: soriku royalty au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1469582
Comments: 10
Kudos: 146





	slow dancing, sword fighting, and other ways to avoid confessing to your best friend

**Author's Note:**

> or [kristin](https://twitter.com/dispositiongay), the patron saint of patience and gay sword fighting<3
> 
> a little pining sowiku... as a treat

Being engaged was a lot harder than Riku thought it would be. 

Logically, he knew better. He knew that planning had to be done and things had to be arranged and guests had to be invited and knowing all of that was all well and dandy but it was another thing to have to look all of it in the eye and actually do it. He wasn’t sure why exactly, then, he hadn’t been expecting it. Was he expecting the burden to fall upon servants? Maybe. But servants weren’t allowed to pick what flavor the cake was going to be, nor did they know which diplomats could sit by which duke (Riku didn’t have any clue about that, either, for that matter), so the task of decision making fell to himself and to Sora. All of that, on top of the duties he still had to perform as Sora’s knight, along with picking his successor and take a crash course in what exactly marrying into royalty would mean for him meant that Riku was very, very overworked and beyond stressed. 

It was worth it, though. At the end, he’d get to marry and spend the rest of his life by Sora’s side as his best friend. 

But it was a lot of work. 

Which was why he was so relieved when Sora called him to his bedroom one day to tell him that they were taking a little vacation. It wasn’t a vacation, really, but a diplomatic trip to a nearby kingdom to meet and discuss the future of their relations. At first glance, Sora didn’t seem particularly excited about it, but Riku could see the tension that had built up over the last few weeks practically falling off of him in waves. His smile was wider than it had been in days, a welcome sight for sore eyes. 

“Granddad keeps reminding me that it’s not a vacation,” Sora said, eyes twinkling. “But it’s totally a vacation.” 

Riku grinned, dropping onto the bed beside them. Riku had lived in Sora’s quarters since he became his personal knight, but he’d gotten a lot more comfortable in Sora’s own room since the engagement. After all, they had appearances to keep up. “Thank god. If one more person asks me which shade of red I prefer I’m going to lose my mind.” 

Sora groaned in agreement, laying back and pressing a pillow against his face. “I mo tight.” 

Riku, laying beside him, turned his head to face Sora, laughing. “What?” 

Sora threw the pillow across the room. “I know right.” 

“Ohhhhh,” Riku drawled, yawning as he turned back to stare up at the ceiling.

Silence fell, but it was comfortable, familiar. Riku didn’t feel the need to fill it. Sora would when he felt like it and for now, Riku was perfectly happy to wait for him. 

“It’s totally a vacation,” Sora said. 

“It is,” Riku agreed. One they sorely needed. 

“Riku?” 

“Hm?” 

Sora was silent for a moment, turning over so that he was facing Riku. Riku glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, trying to read his expression. Sora’s eyebrows were furrowed, his smile gone as he pursed his lips. Riku turned properly to face him, reaching out a hand to push Sora’s hair from his eyes, the strands soft between his fingers as Sora’s eyes fluttered. 

It made Riku’s heart ache. They’d gotten so good at this, the back and forth of pretending to be in love. At some point, the lines just blurred, and there was no one to pretend for, but Riku couldn’t stop his fingers from carding in Sora’s dark hair anyways as his eyes searching for answers in blue eyes, in the constellations of freckles on tanned cheeks, in the pout of lips he’d gotten to know since the announcement of their engagement. And yet, he could figure out nothing. 

“What is it?” He asked, worry creeping into his voice. 

“Do you think we can pull this off?” Sora asked. 

Riku’s heart clenched. “Of course we can.” 

_Because it’s not an act. Because I love you._

Sora smiled, but even Riku could tell that it was forced. There was no _Sora_ behind it. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m just nervous.”

Riku snorted, desperately trying to lighten the mood. “You? Nervous? Please.” 

Sora’s smile seemed a little less forced now and he nodded. “Right. It’s silly.” 

“It’s not _silly,”_ Riku said, shrugging as best as one can laying on their side. “But I don’t think you need to be worried. No one’s questioned it here.”

Except Roxas, but he knew better than to bring it up to anyone but Riku. He didn’t have a death wish, after all. 

Sora laughed, softly. “Okay, okay. I won’t worry.” 

Riku was pretty sure he was only saying that because he wanted Riku to shut up, but that was okay. He could deal with that. “Okay. Now, shush, I want to try and get a nap before someone comes to hound us about curtain colors or something else just as useless.” 

Sora snorted, but obediently closed his eyes, hands curled up against his chest as his breathing began to slowly even out. 

And Riku did, somehow, manage to sleep, drifting off and wishing he could close the divide between them and doze with Sora in his arms. 

* * *

Sora woke early the next morning from a blissfully dreamless sleep. It took him a handful of minutes to truly wake up, dozing in and out of consciousness, not really wanting to wake up when his bed was so warm and cozy.

He blinked his eyes open lazily, seeing that light was just starting to work its way through the tall windows on the far side of the room. That really wasn’t much of an indication of time this late in the season, but Sora took it as an even better sign to stay in bed a little bit longer. If it were really that late, someone would have come to wake him by now. 

There was a shift on the other side of the bed and Sora’s drowsy thoughts slowly worked to register it. A few weeks ago, it would have startled him badly enough to wake him completely, but now it was just a slight surprise. He’d gotten used to Riku’s presence by now. 

It reminded him of being children, when they would have sleepovers and light candles under the blankets to read books and sneak out to look at the stars until they fell asleep and the poor groundskeeper would stumble upon them early in the morning. Of course, once they’d gotten over, the sleepovers slowly stopped, but Sora had always missed them. 

Now, he was lost, though. Riku had been sleeping in his room for weeks, and it felt like the old days all over again, but at the same time. 

Things were different now. For example, Sora had all but extorted Riku into marrying him and boy if the guilt of that didn’t weigh on his conscience constantly. They were _engaged_. And Sora didn’t know what that meant, really. 

It meant that he kissed Riku in public and held his hand and smiled when Riku rubbed small circles with his thumb onto the back of Sora’s hand. It meant that his heart skipped beats when Riku leaned down to kiss his forehead and that he turned bright red when someone pointed out how good Riku looked 

It meant that Sora’s heart melted as he lazily blinked awake to see the sunlight making Riku’s long, messy hair glow and the soft sounds of his breathing were sweeter than any music. 

But it also meant that behind closed doors, nothing had changed. They were still best friends, of course, but… But nothing more, despite the engagement. And Sora wasn’t sure how he felt about that, if he was being honest. 

Slowly, he let the thoughts fade from his mind as he watched Riku’s chest move up and down slightly with the weight of his breaths, falling back asleep as sunlight continued to creep into the room.

* * *

Riku woke not much later, to a similar sight. Sunlight pouring into the room and Sora’s face was pressed into the mountain of pillows, mouth open as he lightly snored, but thankfully didn’t drool.

Mornings like this were his favorite. He was sure he could happily stay like this forever, with Sora barely a foot away and warm blankets making him sleepy despite knowing he needed to get up. They were leaving for the East, to discuss trade relations with Prince Vanitas of Necultivat and to take a much needed break from wedding preparations. 

Still, a minute or so more couldn’t hurt, right? He surely couldn’t be expected to think about trade relations when he could be counting each of the freckles splattered across Sora’s cheeks, right? 

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, there was a loud pounding on the door. Apparently he was wrong. 

Sora groaned. Riku couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. 

“Can we tell them to go away?” he mumbled, pressing his face into the pillow.

Riku laughed softly, but shook his head. “I doubt it.” 

“I’ll order them to go away.” 

“Sora, open the damn door!” 

“I don’t think that will work,” Riku pointed out, recognizing the voice on the other side. 

“It’s open!” Sora shouted back, but it was muffled by the pillow. Still, Ventus seemed to get the message, because the door opened within seconds. 

The next thing Riku knew, the wind was being knocked out him and the mattress as Sora’s other brother flung himself in between them. 

Sora, who had gotten the least of the brunt of all of them, let out an incredibly high pitched squeal. “Ven! Watch it!” 

Ventus had a shit eating grin on his face as he propped himself up on his elbows, looking between Riku and the still half asleep Sora. “Didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” 

“Just my beauty sleep,” Sora muttered, wacking his brother with a pillow.

Ventus swatted it away with ease, managing to miraculously keep his balance in the process. “Well, my bad for wanting to see my baby brother before he went off to his first official engagement party.” 

“Shut up,” the younger prince replied, pressing his face even harder into his pillow. “See me in twenty minutes.” 

Ventus just snorted. “What beauty sleep?” 

“And it’s not an engagement party,” Sora muttered. 

“Right, right,” Ventus agreed, with a tone of voice that clearly said that he didn't buy that for shit. “Because getting invited to a fancy dinner and two week vacation to discuss trade routes definitely _isn’t_ just an excuse to throw a fancy engagement party. Right, Riku?” 

“No comment,” Riku answered.

“Boo,” Ventus answered, sticking his tongue out at him. 

“Pick a side, coward,” Sora added, finally picking his head up off the pillow to grin maniacally at Riku. 

“It’s not a party,” Riku said, much to Sora’s delight and to Ventus’ disgruntlement. “I’m sure they wouldn’t throw a party without inviting the crown prince as well.” 

“Nah,” Sora countered, “Vanitas totally would. Ventus called him a crybaby when they were six and I don’t think he ever got over it.” 

“I did not!” Ventus groaned, “I’m not that mean.”

“That counts as mean?” Riku asked, genuinely. He wasn’t the most well versed in insults or anything of the sort, but he was fairly certain that ‘crybaby’ wasn’t really that bad. 

“He was a sensitive six year,” Sora informed him. 

“Oh.”

“Anyways,” Ventus cut in, sitting up and stretching dramatically, “You two better get out of bed already. Roxas has had the horses ready since dawn and Aqua is starting to get antsy.”

Aqua, the captain of the guard, was notoriously punctual. It didn’t usually affect Riku, but Sora was often the recipient of many lectures when he inevitably showed up to his training fifteen minutes late. (Which, Sora would argue, was Ienzo’s fault anyways, because he often lost track of time when he was excited about whatever it was he was teaching Sora that day. Aqua never seemed to believe him.) 

With the threat of another lecture surely loaming over his head, Sora groaned. “All right, all right, we’ll get up.” 

Ventus just laughed, finally launching himself off the bed, stretching. “Don’t have too much fun while you’re away, okay?”

Sora threw a pillow at him.

* * *

  
  
The journey to Necultivat itself was surprisingly uneventful. Sora complained about having to ride in the carriage (as he always did) while Riku rode alongside it with the other knights. It was a two days ride to Vanitas’ capital and by the second morning, Riku had given in and let Sora ride on his horse. Maybe it was an excuse to wrap his arms around Sora’s torso and listen while he chattered on and on about nothing in particular. Maybe. 

They reached the capital in the early hours of the afternoon, greeted with more fanfare than was probably necessary. 

Prince Vanitas stood at the top of the grand staircase leading to the castle, black and red cloak billowing in the wind. On either side of him were guards, one for each step as Sora ascended to greet him. Riku was a step behind him as they climbed, as was customary for the guard. It was only the last couple of steps when Sora stopped, nearly causing Riku to smack into him. It was only years of training his reflexes to be impeccable that stopped him. 

“You’re my fiance now, not my guard,” he said, pointedly. “Walk beside me.” 

“I can be both,” Riku pointed out, but he moved to stand by Sora’s side nonetheless. 

“Welcome,” Prince Vanitas’ graveling voice greeted them at the top of the stairs. “I trust that your journey was pleasant?” 

His words were kind, but his expression was cold and calculating as he surveyed them. 

Sora bowed, Riku quickly following suit. “It was, thank you. The beauty of your territory is always a wonderful sight to behold.”

Vanitas lips curled into a snarl at the mention of his land, but Riku thought nothing of it. “Thank you, your Highness. Are you hungry? My cooks were just preparing lunch.” 

“Starving,” Sora answered, following Vanitas into the castle with a smile.

To Riku’s measurable despair, lunch was not, apparently, the time to catch up with an old friend. Instead, Vanitas immediately launched them into a debate about the trade deals Sora had come to discuss, his distaste for the idea so great that Riku wondered if he would jump over the table and attack Sora at any given moment over the mere suggestion. 

“Personally, I think it is ridiculous that you would even consider asking me to comply with trading routes in the West, knowing that _their_ kingdom is out there,” Vanitas snapped, twirling his butterknife between his fingers. 

Despite the obvious attempt to get a rouse out of him, Sora nodded calmly. “I can understand why you would be upset, but opening a route in the West would increase the amount of supplies we could get for our men here in Necultivat. Which would increase the men we could have here to protect your lands.” 

“Yeah, we just love having your grandfather’s troops stationed behind our walls,” Prince Vanitas said, his smile cold. “Couldn’t imagine feeling any safer than this.” 

There was a soft thudding sound and Vanitas’ smile wavered momentarily. If Riku didn’t know any better, he would have guessed that Axel had just stepped on the prince’s foot under the table. 

“We’re happy to help,” Sora said cheerfully, taking a sip of wine. “After all, as allies, it’s our job to take care of one another, is it not?” 

Vanitas just smiled at him. Riku couldn’t figure out what it was about that smile that was so unsettling. Maybe it was the oddly pointy teeth, maybe it was the narrowing of eyes that accompanied it. Either way, he was starting to regret the visit. 

“Yes,” Vanitas drawled, “I would be inclined to agree.” 

Before anything else could be said, servants began to shuffle into the room, bringing delicious smelling food with them. 

“We can discuss this more at the meeting this afternoon,” Vanitas declared. His wolfish smile didn’t reach his red eyes. “For now, let’s eat, shall we?” 

* * *

_Someone was screaming. He knew they were calling out a name; he couldn’t make out whose it was._

_But he was alone. How was someone screaming?_

_Was he the one screaming? That must be it. He screamed and screamed and screamed, but it was useless. It only allowed the smoke to enter his lungs, choking him, suffocating him, burying him under the weight of it. His throat ached, burning from both screaming and the smoke._

_And then, of course, there were the flames._

_They licked at his skin as he screamed, the heat searing the hair from his arms. His skin felt like it was boiling, bubbling, melting, but he was frozen where he stood and the fire continued to grow. He screamed at his feet to move, but he could only stand still and scream and cry and surely he would die soon, but not soon enough, because he was still breathing and burning and_

_He heard someone laugh-_

And then he woke up, sweating and panting, in a dark room. The darkness itself was oppressive in the moments he spent desperately trying to gather his bearings as his chest heaved. He could still feel the smoke in his lungs as he fought to catch his breath. Where was he? 

He was at Vanitas’, that’s right. For discussions and a party. The discussion had been dull, of course- they always were- but there was promise of a ball to come and the excitement had kept Sora from sleep for hours until- 

Until he fell asleep and had the damn nightmare again. _Again._

He hadn’t thought about- hadn’t had- that nightmare in nearly half a year now. He’d almost managed to forget about it. He wondered why it returned now to haunt his sleep. Had it been something someone had said? 

Something moved beside him, causing Sora to nearly jump out of his skin before he realized that it was Riku, still asleep.

An idea sparked in Sora’s mind and he was shaking Riku awake before he could stop himself. 

“Rikuuuuuu,” he whined, “Wake up.” 

“Wha’s going on?” Riku sleep-slurred, lifting his head off the pillow and blinking lazily. For a guard, Sora thought he should wake up instantly, ready for anything, but apparently he was in vacation mode. “Someone attacking?” 

“No,” Sora snorted, shaking his head. “I can’t sleep. Come to the training grounds with me.” 

“No,” Riku said, rolling back over and pulling the blanket over his head. “Good night.” 

“Rikuuuuuuuu,” Sora whined again, half throwing his body over Riku’s in an attempt to be as annoying as physically possible, “Come onnnnnn. Please?” 

Riku pressed his face into his pillow, breathing in deeply enough that Sora could hear it loud and clear. “All right, all right.” 

Sora let out a soft cheer, rolling out of the bed, feet landing on the ground as he searched in the dark for his boots. 

He still knew the pathways of the creaky old castle and the fastest route out of it. 

Riku knew all of the nooks and crannies, too, of course, because he’d been by Sora’s side for each and every adventure from their childhood visits. 

It didn’t take long for them to find their way out of the castle, quiet as mice as they slipped around corners and past guards. Half the fun of training so late was, after all, the feeling of adrenaline that came from slipping in and out of the places they weren’t supposed to be at so late in the night. Sora could remember them playing spies more than once as children, but back then they would giggle with glee loud enough to alert the roaming guards to their antics. 

A part of him ached for the simplicity of those days, for the laughter they’d be sharing right now instead of the determined silence that passed between them now. 

Apparently he wasn’t the only one thinking along those lines, because Riku whispered, “This is easier than I remember.” 

As they neared the training grounds and subsequent storage barn, Sora nodded. “I’m going to tell Ven that it was always his fault that we got caught.”

Riku snorted. 

They finally reached the barn, Sora entering it first. It was pitch black, but he knew that torches and matches lined the walls, if he could only find them in the dark. He ran his hand along the wall until he found the torch, striking a match to light it. 

“Let there be light,” he murmured, stepping further into the barn. 

Swords and spears and bows lined the walls, but he knew that Vanitas stored even more dangerous and terrifying weapons here, too. Someday, he would ask about them, but not tonight. Tonight, he would train with Riku until he wore himself out, too tired to even dream once he fell back asleep. 

As Riku lingered in the doorway, Sora grabbed two of the wooden swords from the wall, tossing one back towards Riku.

It hit the ground, of course, because the light of the torch didn’t quite reach the doorway and Sora hadn’t even bothered to warn Riku that he was tossing the sword to him. Oops. 

“Sorry,” Sora called, making his way back to the exit, picking the sword up and properly handing it to Riku this time. He blew out the torch, placing it by the door for someone to replace in the morning. 

They made their way back out into the moonlight, eyes squinting to find a patch of dirt in the darkness. Thankfully, the stars were bright, and it really didn’t take much time at all for Sora’s eyes to adjust. They found a patch of dirt that was _probably_ used as a place to train during the day, Sora shrugging off his cloak and leaving it in the grass to collect when they were finished. A few feet away, Riku did the same. Sora could see the dip of his head out of the corner of his eye, mesmerized by the way the moonlight seemed to light up his silver hair. 

“Are you ready?” He asked. 

Riku’s grin was bright under the starlight, his teeth and eyes lit menacingly (hot, a part of Sora’s brain pointed out) in the dark. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” 

Sora returned his grin and charged forward, side stepping as Riku thrust his blade out to meet him. Despite both of their general sleepiness, the air between them was charged as Sora swung, the first clash of wood startlingly loud in the silent night. A guard was sure to hear them now, but that was the farthest thing from Sora’s thoughts as he rushed in for another attack. 

Sora went for the gut, but Riku sidestepped, taunting him as the sword found nothing but open air, but Sora could barely hear him over the rush of blood in his ears. Sora stumbled, but was quick to regain his footing 

Riku lunged and Sora jumped back, barely swinging his sword in time to parry. The clash reverberated down the shaft, the force nearly enough to loosen his grip enough to drop it, but not quite. Sora spun, letting out a cackling laugh as he pulled his blade back to readjust his grip. 

It was hard to keep from getting distracted by Riku’s footwork; it was rapid and mesmerizing under the moonlight, but Sora tried his damndest to keep his focus on the fight. He knew Riku’s fighting style as if it were his own: one misstep and he’d be lying on his ass in seconds. 

He aimed for Riku’s shoulder this time, feigning at the last second and managing to catch Riku’s side instead, twisting away from the blow as quickly as he landed it to keep from getting caught by Riku’s sword on 

Riku swung his sword behind his back before grabbing it with both hands, bringing it down onto Sora’s shoulder, hard. “Give up yet?” 

Turning his blade horizontal, Sora spun out from the hold, a wicked grin on his face. “Never.” 

He flung his sword behind his back, switching to his left hand in an attempt to catch Riku off guard. Unfortunately, Riku was well aware of his tricks by now and was ready to meet him when their swords crashed together again, the sound echoing in the darkness.

They were inches apart, separated only by the blades crossed between them. Up close like this, Sora could see each of Riku’s eyelashes, could make out the dark speckles in his green eyes. Sora had to look up to meet his eyes, struck by the way that the moonlight lit him from behind in a way that was breathtaking. Sora’s heart was pounding- 

And the next thing he knew, he was on his back, sword falling to the dirt beside him, wind knocked out of him. Riku had swept his legs out from under him while Sora was busy staring at him like a fool. Damn it. 

Being on the ground so suddenly was dizzying, and his heart was pounding as he tried to catch his breath. It took less than a second, but it was still long enough for Riku to kick his sword away and pin Sora to the ground with his hips. Sora wished he wasn’t so painfully hyper aware of it. 

“Yield,” Riku said, tilting Sora’s chin up with the tip of his sword. 

Sora knew he was pouting, but he still knocked the blade away with his hand. “Fine.” 

Riku replaced the blade, smirking in a way that made Sora want to both punch and kiss him. “Say it.” 

He groaned. “I yield.” 

His heart was still pounding as Riku rolled off of him, yawning as he went to pick up Sora’s sword. 

“Can we go back to bed now?” Riku asked. 

Sora nodded, though he doubted he would be able to get any sleep now.

* * *

True to his word, Vanitas’ party was lavish and grand and everything that Riku hated about joining the royal class.

It wasn’t that he was a stick in the mud, really. It was just that he could only handle a few minutes of mind numbingly dull small talk before he started to go batshit. That was one of the things he appreciated about the guard; you didn’t have to be polite and talk about the weather with everyone you made eye contact with, you just had to stand there and occasionally make sure that no one died. 

And he didn’t have to pretend that his love was all an act. As much as he hated to admit it, it was hard. It was hard to wake up to Sora’s smile every morning and know that it wasn’t real. That beyond their friendship, there was… nothing. 

“You don’t have to look so miserable,” a voice said from behind, startling him. 

“I’m not,” Riku answered, turning to greet Vanitas. 

“You are,” Vanitas drawled. “I’d ask why that is, but I don’t really care.” 

“Fair enough,” he said, sighing as he looked over the balcony railing. Below them, the lights twinkled and the people danced to a fast tune. “I think I just needed a breather.” 

“I told you I didn’t care,” Vanitas reminded him. “But, I will be nice and point out that your fiance is down there looking rather bored. You might want to go dance with him before someone else sweeps him off his feet.” 

Riku frowned, but before he could say anything, he blinked and Vanitas was gone. 

Another deep sigh and he was going down the stairs and descending into the ballroom, his eyes not leaving Sora the entire time. It was impossible to tear his eyes away; Sora was a star amongst the nobility, a supernova that lit up any room. 

He looked nothing less than stunning tonight, all dressed up in his regalia, red cape clasped over his right shoulder. His black uniform coat was cropped over high waisted pants, buttons and ornamental tassels crossing and glimmering red to match. He looked every bit the prince he was; even the gold earrings dangling by his chin looked regal. He didn’t need a crown to tell the room that he was the highest ranking noble in the ballroom; the grace he held himself with did all of that for him. 

They really did make quite a pair, Riku thought. Though his cape was black, their uniforms matched in color, despite Riku’s being fashioned more like a soldier’s, muted blues and blacks with a longer waistcoat (to hide knives in), while Sora’s was clearly that of a King. Riku’s thoughts wandered to art and the expensive statues that lined the castle grounds back home. Maybe they should carve Sora’s likeness into a statue, he thought, and then they’d truly have created a masterpiece. 

As Riku stepped off the final stair, he opened his mouth to call out for Sora, but Sora beat him to it, turning around and half yelling, “Riku!” as he ran towards him. 

“There you are!” Sora half scolded, his lips downturned in a pout that was cuter than it was discouraging. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” 

“I’m sorry,” Riku apologized, unable to stop the smile that was pulling at his own mouth. “I just needed a moment to catch my breath.” 

Sora nodded in understanding. Riku had never aired his frustrations to him about socializing, at least not since becoming royalty, but Sora seemed to understand him nonetheless. “Feel better?” 

Riku nodded, holding out his hand. “May I have this dance?” 

Sora’s face lit up under the lights of the chandeliers as he took Riku’s hand. “You may.” 

They entered the floor halfway through a song, but no one seemed to pay them any mind as Riku placed his hand on Sora’s waist, the other clasping Sora’s freckled hand. 

They began to step in time to the music, Riku leading as he spun Sora around the ballroom, careful to not collide with any of the other guests. It took more concentration than Riku was willing to admit. Dancing felt a lot like fighting did: fast paced, natural, and undeniably stressful. He’d practiced with Sora and Ventus for years and yet he still worried that he’d step on Sora’s toes at any given moment. Had he worried about that before the engagement? He couldn’t remember. 

“Have I told you that your hair looks really nice when it’s up like that?” Sora said, startling Riku out of his deep focus. 

His face heated up on it’s own accord as he fought the urge to touch his hair. It was nothing special, in his mind, two braids pulled haphazardly into a ponytail. He’d done it at the last minute, wishing he’d just remember to get a haircut someday the entire time. “Probably.” 

Every time Riku had mentioned cutting his hair, Sora protested profusely. He said that the length of it made Riku look, in his words, “Cool as hell.” 

“But thank you,” Riku added as an afterthought. 

Sora laughed, a sound more musical than anything the band could play (even if he did sound a little bit like he was wheezing to death in the process). 

The band began to play a slower tune, a waltz. Riku breathed out a sigh of relief; he’d trained this dance- the noblest of them, their teacher would say- with the princes so much that he could do a slow waltz in his sleep. 

The box steps were familiar as he turned with Sora in his arms. Sora’s weight in his arms was a familiar feeling by now, from their years of training together and the intimacy that had grown between them since announcing the engagement. It wasn’t out of place these days for Sora to throw himself into Riku’s arms when they were among others in the castle. 

When he reached out his hand, Sora would find it. Now more than ever. 

Riku’s heart ached with the wish for it to be real. 

It was impossible to look away from his fiance’s face as they danced. Riku had never found eye contact comfortable, but he could look into Sora's eyes for the rest of his life and never get bored. If he tried, he could count his freckles, fighting the urge to reach out and connect them like constellations with his finger. At some point during the song, Sora began to smile, the warmth of it heating Riku from head to toe. 

At the end of the song, he dipped Sora. Their faces were merely inches apart as Sora’s chest heaved below him, blue eyes looking from Riku’s eyes to his lips. Riku’s heart seemed to catch in his throat, but he wasn’t sure why. He knew he could kiss Sora now, could pull him up and into his arms and no one would think anything of it. But he was frozen in the moment, unable to do anything but drink in the sight before him. 

“Riku,” Sora breathed, sounding uncertain. Of what, Riku couldn’t even hope to guess. 

“Sora,” Riku answered.

He started to pull Sora up, up to kiss him (because he simply might die if he didn’t) when- 

The tune picked up again and they were off once more, dancing like madmen with the rest of the guests until it slowed down again. He found himself staring at Sora’s lips more often than not, unable to get the thought of kissing him out of his head. 

“I think it’s my turn to get some air,” Sora finally said after being dipped one too many times. His cheeks flushed from the exertion of dancing the night away and Riku could barely think straight through the urge to kiss each them (several times, preferably). 

It wasn’t hard to find an uninhabited balcony once they’d made their way out of the main ballroom. The music was still playing in the background, but it was much softer out here, quieter than the sounds of crickets chirping somewhere in the forest down below. 

“It’s nice out here,” Riku remarked, propping himself against the balcony’s railing with his elbows. Beside him, Sora did the same. 

“Peaceful,” Sora agreed absentmindedly. 

Riku glanced over at him. It was peaceful, but Sora’s expression was clouded. “What are you thinking about?” 

Sora only hummed in response. 

Below them, drunk nobles cackled at something in the darkness as they called for their carriages. So much for a peaceful reprieve from the party. 

“Riku,” Sora said, suddenly, his voice pitched and breathy in a way that Riku didn’t recognize. 

“Sora,” he answered, swallowing hard. There were a million thoughts running through his head, predominantly about how foolishly he wanted to kiss Sora right now. He wanted to taste Sora’s lips against his, feel the warmth of his body flushed against him as the harsh wind chilled them to their bones. 

But there was no one else with them, no one to fool, no audience to perform for. Riku almost wished they were back at the ball, if only so he could take Sora’s hand in his. It was a desperate, selfish desire, but his heart ached for it regardless. 

He was wondering if he’d finally flown too close to the sun when Sora lunged forward, pulling Riku into a kiss by his collar. 

The shock held him in place for the briefest of pauses, but Riku recovered quickly, melting into the kiss like it was the easiest thing in the world, because it was. 

It was a new kind of kiss, hungry and fast and nothing at all like the quick pecks they exchanged in the castle halls when they knew they were being watched. There was something more there, something needy and desperate.

His hands scrambled for purchase on Sora’s hips, pulling him as close as he could as a now familiar hand wound its way into his hair. The touch made him gasp, his brain going fuzzy for a moment as he leaned into the touch, practically preening for it. He could feel Sora’s lips twitch upwards against his, opening just enough for Riku to bite at his fiance’s bottom lip, rewarded with a sharp intake of breath that drove him absolutely wild. 

He’d never felt so simultaneously light headed and _alive._

Sora’s other hand cupped at Riku’s cheek, tracing circles with his thumbs. The touch felt almost out of place from its softness, but his face seemed to burn under the touch, the sort of sparks that he had always laughed at romance novels for describing in such vivid detail. He thought he finally understood what all the fuss was about, after all. 

The balcony railing was pressing into his back hard enough to bruise, and he was pretty sure something cracked, but he could barely find the time to care about that when he had Sora here, in his arms- 

And then Sora was pulling away, blue eyes wide with emotions that Riku couldn’t place, and his heart was sinking. 

“I’m-” Sora started, before pausing, looking over Riku’s shoulder and into the wilderness carefully, somehow managing it despite the fact that they were still barely inches apart. The terrible pause seemed to last for an eternity as Sora seemed to search for something to say, and it felt like time itself was holding Riku’s head under water and telling him to take a deep breath. “Sorry.” 

He should have seen this coming. His heart twisted, feeling like someone was pulling it in a hundred different directions, but Riku only shook his head. “Don’t be.” 

“What?” Sora asked, surprise causing him to glance at Riku finally. “But there isn’t anyone around. I shouldn’t have…” 

Getting stabbed would have hurt less, but Riku shook his head. “It’s okay. You just got caught up in the moment, I understand.” 

The words felt like gravel in his mouth, but there was nothing else to be done. What other explanation was there? 

Sora took a deep breath. 

“Actually, I didn’t,” he said, so quickly that Riku almost couldn’t understand him. “Get caught up in the moment, I mean.” 

“What?” was all Riku could manage to say. 

“IthinkIloveyouRiku.” 

“What?” Riku repeated, because he genuinely couldn’t understand a word Sora had just said. 

Sora buried his face in his hands, groaning. “Are you really going to make me say it again?” 

“Yes?” Riku snorted, amusement barely overpowering his growing sense of confusion and slowly dissipating feelings of dread and sorrow. 

“I said,” Sora whined, “That I think I’m in love with you, Riku. Like, for real.” 

Riku’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh.” 

Sora visibly cringed at Riku’s answer. “Listen, I’m really so-”

“I already told you not to be,” Riku said, his own voice sounding very far away as he tried to wrap his head around what was going on. 

It was Sora’s turn to say, “What?”

But Riku only said, “How long?”

Sora laughed, but it was soft and it was sad. “Forever, I think. But I didn’t realize until recently. I think that might have been why I was always so opposed to getting married… I already had everything I wanted. I already had you.” 

Riku really thought his heart might stop beating entirely from the shock. Here he was, standing under the stars, his lifelong crush was confessing that he was in love with him, and Riku was going to have a heart attack and die before he could even kiss him again. 

While this was all going through his mind, Sora fidgeted, finally saying, “Riku, for the love of god, _say something._ ” 

Sora always was impatient. 

“So, here’s the thing,” Riku said, regretting his words as Sora’s face immediately began to fall. The last thing he wanted was for Sora to think that he was rejecting his confession, but honestly, Riku needed a moment to gather his thoughts. Still, he managed to quickly backtrack, adding, “I’m in love with you too.” 

Sora blinked. Riku wondered if he’d looked that confused when Sora had been speaking earlier. “You… really?”

Riku snorted despite himself. “Yes, really.” 

“We’re stupid,” Sora said, decisevely and despairingly, but smiling nonetheless.

“Incredibly,” Riku agreed. 

Sora launched himself at Riku again, but instead of going in for a kiss, he wrapped his arms tightly around Riku’s torso, burying his face in the fabric of Riku’s waistcoat. He was shaking and Riku was worried for a moment that he was crying, but quickly realized that Sora was… laughing. 

“I’m sorry,” Sora said, “I just can’t believe how stupid we’ve been.” 

“Hey Sora?” 

“Yeah?” Sora answered, looking up to meet Riku’s eyes. 

Flushed against the light spilling out from the doors and onto the balcony, Sora looked beautiful. Riku couldn’t help but brush a stray strand of hair behind his ear, heart skipping as Sora leaned into the touch. “I love you.” 

Sora’s face broke out into a grin so bright that it was nearly blinding, “I love you, too.” 

And Riku leaned down to kiss him again, slow and sweet and smiling into like a fool. 

“I love you,” Sora said against his lips, so quietly that it was hard to believe that it was even Sora speaking. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” 

Riku didn’t think he would ever tire of hearing Sora say that. “And I love you.” 

They stood like that, wrapped in each others arms, for some time before Sora spoke up. “We should probably go back inside.” 

Riku sighed, resting his chin on the top of Sora’s head. “You’re probably right. But can’t we stay out here just a little longer?” 

Sora hummed. “Yeah, we could.”

A little longer certainly didn’t sound long enough, but Riku was sure that he could live in this moment happily forever. Maybe before, when it had all been pretend, the thought would have made Riku sad. They would have gone back inside and danced the night away together, but Riku’s heart would have ached with the pain of the lie. Now, though? Now he could smile into the night, he could close his eyes and breathe in the scent of Sora’s fading cologne, just barely covering the scent of the dirt he’d dragged Riku out to to train in the night before. Now, he could return to the ball and champagne and dancing and he could smile through it because he knew that he had a lifetime of happy, warm moments just like this to look forward to. 

And none of it, _none_ of it would be fake.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on [twitter](https://twitter.com/vanitashours)!!!!!! 
> 
> thanks so much for reading!!! have a great day!!


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